Boston Tea Party (concert venue)
Encyclopedia
The Boston Tea Party was a concert venue located on 53 Berkeley Street (later relocated to 15 Lansdowne Street in the former site of competitor, The Ark) in Boston
, Massachusetts
. It operated from 1967 and closed in early 1971, due partly to the increasing popularity of large outdoor festivals and arena rock concerts.
The venue became associated with the psychedelic movement, being similar in this way to other contemporary rock halls such as New York
's Fillmore East
and Electric Circus
, San Francisco's Fillmore West
, and Philadelphia's Electric Factory
.
, and then a street mission, the location was later converted into a venue that showed underground films, before being bought by Ray Riepen and David Hahn and converted again into a concert venue. It opened as a rock music
hall on January 20, 1967.
Originally playing host to exclusively local acts, the venue quickly began to attract performances by many famous artists, including Grateful Dead
, Neil Young
, The J. Geils Band, Frank Zappa
, Pink Floyd
, Cream
, Fleetwood Mac
, The Allman Brothers Band
, Joe Cocker
& the Grease Band, Led Zeppelin
, Jimi Hendrix
, The Buddy Miles
Express, Charlie Musselwhite, Jeff Beck
, The Who
, Santana
, Taj Mahal
, Ten Years After
& Sly and the Family Stone.
show whose ill-placed bootleg became the "Guitar Amp Tape." The cost of admission at the time ranged between $3.00 and $3.50 a show, although The Who
exacted a premium for their performance of Tommy, charging $4.50. Light shows designed by Roger Thomas, John Boyd, Deb Colburn, and Ken Brown and performed by Lights By The Road provided the lighting and other effects for many of the performances.
An infamous concert featuring The Velvet Underground (headliners) and the recently-signed MC5
, took place at the Tea Party in December 1968. The MC5 opened with their high energy performance, playing to a room full of Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers
(known primarily as "Motherfuckers"). After the MC5's energized performance, one of the Motherfuckers got on stage and started haranguing the audience; directing them to "...burn this place down and take to the streets..." After that display of anarchy, Lou Reed addressed the audience, telling their fans that "...we (Velvet Underground) have nothing to do with what just happened...we think it's dumb..." Sterling Morrison (Velvet Underground's bass & guitar player) is on record as saying that he "...always enjoyed the MC5 musically, but didn't like that they were surrounded by and exploited by leeches."
The early history of this venue is documented in the book Mansion on the Hill by Fred Goodman
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. It operated from 1967 and closed in early 1971, due partly to the increasing popularity of large outdoor festivals and arena rock concerts.
The venue became associated with the psychedelic movement, being similar in this way to other contemporary rock halls such as New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Fillmore East
Fillmore East
The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...
and Electric Circus
Electric Circus (nightclub)
The Electric Circus was a nightclub and discotheque located at 19-25 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, from 1967 to September 1971. The club was created by Jerry Brandt, Stanton J. Freeman and their partners and designed...
, San Francisco's Fillmore West
Fillmore West
The Fillmore West was an historic music venue in San Francisco, California made famous by concert promoter Bill Graham. Named after Graham's original "Fillmore" location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it stood at Market Street and South Van Ness Avenue and was formerly...
, and Philadelphia's Electric Factory
Electric Factory
The Electric Factory is a concert venue in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe original "Electric Factory" venue was a converted tire warehouse at 22nd and Arch Streets, which opened in 1968. The first performers, on February 2, 1968, were the Chambers Brothers...
.
History
Originally the site of a synagogueSynagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, and then a street mission, the location was later converted into a venue that showed underground films, before being bought by Ray Riepen and David Hahn and converted again into a concert venue. It opened as a rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
hall on January 20, 1967.
Originally playing host to exclusively local acts, the venue quickly began to attract performances by many famous artists, including Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, The J. Geils Band, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
& the Grease Band, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, The Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
Express, Charlie Musselwhite, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
& Sly and the Family Stone.
The Velvet Underground shows
The Tea Party was the site of The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
show whose ill-placed bootleg became the "Guitar Amp Tape." The cost of admission at the time ranged between $3.00 and $3.50 a show, although The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
exacted a premium for their performance of Tommy, charging $4.50. Light shows designed by Roger Thomas, John Boyd, Deb Colburn, and Ken Brown and performed by Lights By The Road provided the lighting and other effects for many of the performances.
An infamous concert featuring The Velvet Underground (headliners) and the recently-signed MC5
MC5
The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
, took place at the Tea Party in December 1968. The MC5 opened with their high energy performance, playing to a room full of Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers
Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers
Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers was an anarchist affinity group based in New York City...
(known primarily as "Motherfuckers"). After the MC5's energized performance, one of the Motherfuckers got on stage and started haranguing the audience; directing them to "...burn this place down and take to the streets..." After that display of anarchy, Lou Reed addressed the audience, telling their fans that "...we (Velvet Underground) have nothing to do with what just happened...we think it's dumb..." Sterling Morrison (Velvet Underground's bass & guitar player) is on record as saying that he "...always enjoyed the MC5 musically, but didn't like that they were surrounded by and exploited by leeches."
The early history of this venue is documented in the book Mansion on the Hill by Fred Goodman
Performances
- The UAW/MF's were in Boston to raise defense monies for one of their own; a guy who got into a beef with some U.S. soldiers and stabbed one of them.
- The Grateful Dead played six shows there: 10/2/69, 10/3/69, 10/4/69, 12/29/69, 12/30/69, and 12/31/69.
Songs
- The song "The Boston Tea Party" was also a hit single for The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in 1976.